Coleton stumbled and barely caught his balance. He looked around the room, his chest heaving. He looked like a trapped animal surrounded by wolves.
His eyes met Adelbert's. The old man's gaze was murderous. Coleton flinched visibly, his shoulders shrinking as he quickly looked away.
Then, Coleton saw Katrina. He saw her hand gripping the handle of her suitcase. He realized she was actually leaving.
He scrambled forward, reaching out to grab her arm. "Katrina, wait. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Katrina sidestepped smoothly, avoiding his touch like he was diseased.
Coleton dropped his hand, but his mouth kept moving. "Leo's fever spiked to 104 degrees. It was an emergency. I had to go."
Katrina looked him up and down. Her expression was one of pure, unadulterated pity.
"When did you get your pediatric medical license, Coleton?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "What exactly were you going to do to cure him?"
Coleton choked on his words. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. His face turned a deep, humiliated red.
Brandin watched Coleton stammer. The rage that Brandin had been suppressing finally boiled over.
This was the idiot who had just jeopardized a billion-dollar merger.
Brandin let out a furious roar. He charged forward like a linebacker. He grabbed the lapels of Coleton's custom shirt with both hands.
Before anyone could react, Brandin pulled his right arm back and drove his fist directly into Coleton's jaw.
The sickening crack of bone hitting bone echoed in the room.
Coleton screamed. The force of the punch lifted him off his feet. He crashed backward, hitting the hard wood floor with a heavy thud.
Blood immediately pooled in the corner of Coleton's mouth. It dripped down his chin and stained the collar of his white shirt. He groaned, clutching his face in shock.
Katrina stood perfectly still. She watched her brother beat her husband. Her heart rate didn't even spike. She felt absolutely nothing.
Jovani saw his cousin hit the floor. Family pride kicked in. He couldn't let a Pennington assault a Meyer on Meyer territory.
Jovani rushed forward and shoved Brandin hard in the chest. "Back off! This is Meyer property. You don't get to discipline our blood!"
Brandin shoved him right back. "He's a pathetic piece of trash who thinks with his dick!"
The two heirs grabbed each other's jackets. The room erupted into chaotic shouting.
"Enough!"
Adelbert raised his solid silver cane high into the air. He brought it down against the floorboards with all his strength.
BANG.
The sound was like a gunshot. Brandin and Jovani froze, instantly letting go of each other. The room went dead silent.
Adelbert glared at Brandin. "Step back. A Meyer made the mistake. A Meyer will handle the discipline."
Coleton heard those words. He looked up from the floor, wiping the blood from his mouth. A spark of hope lit up his eyes. He thought his grandfather was stepping in to protect him, just like he always did.
But Adelbert didn't look at him with love. He looked down at Coleton with the cold, calculating eyes of a man discarding a broken tool.
"Effective immediately," Adelbert announced, his voice echoing with absolute finality, "I am stripping you of all executive privileges and operational titles within the Meyer Group."
Coleton's eyes bulged out of his head. The color drained from his face. His pupils dilated in pure terror. The power he relied on to survive was gone in a single sentence.
Jovani's heart leaped with joy, but he forced a look of concern onto his face. "Grandfather, please. Isn't that too harsh?" He only said it to confirm the order was real.
Adelbert shot Jovani a look so venomous it made Jovani step backward. The authority was absolute.
Katrina crossed her arms over her chest. She watched the entire performance. A mocking smile touched her lips.
"Demoting him in your little corporate sandbox doesn't fix a marriage that is rotten to the core," Katrina stated, her voice devoid of any emotion.
